Successful Meetings - July 2008 - (Page 8)

Editor’s Note > By Vincent Alonzo vince.alonzo@nielsen.com Meeting the Challenge It was one of those June days that all of us remember from our childhood. My classmates and I were sitting at our desks while our fourth grade teacher, Miss Mulrooney, drilled us on our multiplication tables. Sunlight streamed through the windows, flooding the room with the distraction of a summer vacation that was just a few excruciatingly long days away. Then the door opened, and the rest of this memory becomes uniquely my own. The school principal entered, walked over to Miss Mulrooney and whispered something to her. She let out a shriek and ran from the room in tears. That left the principal to tell us that Brian McDermott, one of our classmates, had died of cancer. Miss Mulrooney can be forgiven for her inability to face us. She’d already done it before in April when Felipe Sanchez, another classmate, had died—also of cancer. “Strong Medicine,” which begins on page 36, prompted this memory. It’s about Josh Sommer, a 20 year-old college student who’s been diagnosed with chordoma, a rare form of cancer for which little research is being done. So 18 months ago, Josh and his mother, Dr. Simone Sommer created the first event in what has evolved into a professional workshop for doctors and researchers, a community conference, and a youth Josh Sommer (r) with fellow network for children suffering from survivor Justin Straus the disease. It’s an inspiring story about the power meetings have to affect change both in the professional arena and in people’s lives. The Sommers’ foray into meeting planning has jump-started research into chordoma and created a support network for those suffering from it and their families. And their story illustrates how no one can plan a meeting alone. The Sommers have been lucky enough to attract the help of medical research organizations, two professional planners, and a dedicated team of volunteers that were unfortunately too numerous to mention in print. But you can visit our website go to “articles by topic,” scroll down to “by meeting type,” click on “medical/pharma” then open “With a Little Help from their Friends” to see just how many people chose to make a difference. EDITORIAL and EXECUTIVE OFFICES: 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003, (646) 654-7361; fax (646) 654-7365; www.mimegasite.com VINCENT ALONZO editor-in-chief, vince.alonzo@nielsen.com KINLEY LEVACK managing editor, kinley.levack@nielsen.com CORRIE DOSH destinations editor, corrie.dosh@nielsen.com NANCY LAZARUS research director, nancy.lazarus@nielsen.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: ROBERT CAREY, RAYNA KATZ, WILLIAM NG, MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN, TOM MCDONALD CORRESPONDENTS: NEELAM MATHEWS (ASIA); ED SCHMIDT JR. (FLORIDA); HEIDI WALDROP BAY (WESTERN U.S.) ART (646) 654-7348 DON SALKALN art director, don.salkaln@nielsen.com PRODUCTION (646) 654-7293 GRACE CASEY production manager CUSTOM PUBLISHING (646) 654-7360 MARYLIN MOORE editorial director; ALISON GOLUB executive editor; DENNISTON BROWN art director; MICHELLE TROPIANO associate art director INFORMATION MARKETING (646) 654-5879 TRACEY associate director, audience marketing, tracey.dwyer@nielsen.com SUBSCRIPTIONS (847) 763-9050 MARKETING (646) 654-7263 JENNIFER PEPPER STAM senior marketing manager, travel group, jennifer.pepperstam@nielsen.com ADVERTISING (646) 654-7327 FOR THE NEW YORK OFFICE REPRINTS For advertising/editorial: The YGS Group, Jenny Kintner, (800) 3242930, e-mail: successfulmeetings@theYGSgroup.com. For one-time use of our content, as a full article, excerpt, or chart: Barbara Grieninger, (646) 654-4675, email: barbara.grieninger@nielsen.com LIST RENTAL (646) 654-7220 MICHELLE WIESNER Vice President, Manufacturing and Distribution: Jennifer Grego Vice President, Audience Marketing: Joanne Wheatley DWYER 8 mimegasite.com JULY 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS http://www.mimegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - July 2008

Successful Meetings - July 2008 Contents Editor's Note Industry Trends Suppliers Newsmakers On the Record Technology Newsmakers Calendar Planner Spotlight Management Matters Meetings Law Websites of the Month Mouth for Sale Pre-Event On Site Tools of the Trade Pre-Event Initial Success Strong Medicine Risky Business Places & Spaces Birmingham Kentucky Georgia & the Carolinas Hong Kong Melbourne Gurus

Successful Meetings - July 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.